dellisny Posted November 30, 2000 Share Posted November 30, 2000 Sorry if this is a repeat.... What about a hot key that shows topo lines for the map. That would help my planning a lot. I'm not very good at understanding the terrain given the current tools. Also, if I could print the map (with topo lines ), then I could plot my strategy while on the subway. -doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomitmeister Posted November 30, 2000 Share Posted November 30, 2000 I like the printing idea. I have found that a lot of games would be better if you could print maps, logs, etc. from them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jKMkIII Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 That sounds like great idea. I want those lines Would be great tool for planning strategy to use. Like real commander looking at map first and then going to 3D view to optimize and check original plan. ------------------ jK.MkIII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dellisny Posted December 1, 2000 Author Share Posted December 1, 2000 FYI. Here is a reply I got from MadMatt: "... your comments are noted but you wont see those implemented any time soon or at all due to coding issues. The game does not *see* topo lines as such, it is much more complex than that. If you really need that visual aid then you should perhaps look at downloading some of the mods that have "grids" on the grass tiles. Many people like how they look and it will aid you in elevation discrimination. Those mods are available from http://combathq.thegamers.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 How about click on a spot and get its elevation. The only way I can clearly see terrain is from the first person perspective. I got killed by enemy tanks when I first starting playing this game because I placed my tanks in terrible positions. - Hobo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabla Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 I would have to agree that the lack of depth vision when viewing the battle scene from above is one of the most challenging aspects of the game at the moment. At least for me it is quite an effort to try to keep in mind all the valleys and hills in the scene during setup or battle. And since depth elevations are a huge factor in battle, I am repeatedly finding myself in a position where I have lost a tank or two because I did not notice some bumps. Of course this may be just because of my Junior status Matts reply to Dellisny clearly states that the game does not see the topographic map at the moment. However, there are some alternatives which I would still like to explore. 1) By looking at the scenario editor I gather that the game does know the elevation of each square of the battleground. A display / plot of these elevation levels would already make a huge difference. 2) The elevation map does not change during battle, so one could add an offline topographic map generator to the scenario editor that would create the map when the scenario is saved. This created map would not have to be a formally exact map (I don't believe they had ones in 1944), just an approximation. Furthermore, the offline nature of such a feature would probably require minimal changes to existing code. 3) The scenario editor could be changed so that one could attach an image of some kind to the battleground. This way scenario editors could supply topographic maps when available. Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pak40 Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 "1) By looking at the scenario editor I gather that the game does know the elevation of each square of the battleground. A display / plot of these elevation levels would already make a huge difference." The game does know the average elevation of each sqauare. You can print screen when in the scenario editor (with the elevations) turned on. However, for large maps you will have use print screen two or more times and then paste them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hobo: How about click on a spot and get its elevation. The only way I can clearly see terrain is from the first person perspective. I got killed by enemy tanks when I first starting playing this game because I placed my tanks in terrible positions. - Hobo<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> In all honesty I think this is the WHOLE point of the way the game was made. Sorry, but if you don't get down on the ground and look around in view #1 then you deserve to get killed. Way back before the Gold Demo when the Beta Demo was out MANY of us (my self included) asked for topo maps with contour lines. We were clearly told the map editor does not work that way. You can see that for you self if you use the map editor to design your own scenario's. The game is just fine the way it is and as Matt says there are other ways to determine the elevation using different grass textures. And Yes scouting around on the ground is the very best way to see what you can actually see. -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Duquette Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 Agree with Tom. Hunker down and look at the terrain from ground level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dellisny Posted December 1, 2000 Author Share Posted December 1, 2000 One reason I want contour lines is that I might want to command a spotter or HQ to got to the top of a Hill and then stop.It's kind of like the tank's hunt command. I want the units to stop once they have line of site on something. Is there a way to achieve this? If I could perform a line of site operation, not from a unit, but from an arbitrary location on the map, then I could figure out where to direct the units. -doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croda Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dellisny: One reason I want contour lines is that I might want to command a spotter or HQ to got to the top of a Hill and then stop.It's kind of like the tank's hunt command. I want the units to stop once they have line of site on something. Is there a way to achieve this? If I could perform a line of site operation, not from a unit, but from an arbitrary location on the map, then I could figure out where to direct the units. -doug<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And how realistic would that be? The best way to handle terrain issues (be it LOS, hull down, covering bounds, etc.) is to use views 1-3. To be truthful, I rarely (if ever) use the higher level (top down) views. I do my entire setup from view 3, and watch the movies from all the low level views. To me, contour lines wouldn't help a bit. If I want to see elevation, I sit in view 1 and see the hill in front of me and rationalize that a hill consitutes elevation. I often move around the map in view 1 or 2 to see the ground first hand. It gives a great feel for the terrain. If you don't play this game, I recommend you try it. It's much more realistic, and helps better immerse me in the game. ------------------ <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Elijah Meeks: You rock, Croda<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Oberst Posted December 1, 2000 Share Posted December 1, 2000 To map out moves, I try to get down into level(?) 1, and move where I think I want to go. If I ever get lost, I elevate up to 2 or 3 without moving, to get your bearings, then drop back down to level 1. Levels 5-7 are used near the end of the planning to make sure there aren't any unintended holes in the advance line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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